A/N We're not even half way through this story yet, I did warn you it would be my longest one yet.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me to this point and all those who intend to continue to stick with me.

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"Do you know why you have been summoned to us at this time, Belthazor?" One of the Triad members asked.

"My lack of progress in destroying the Charmed Ones." Cole answered. "I recruited Andras and he failed, the Charmed Ones are stronger than ever and we still don't know who their allies are. He had centuries of experience and they still defeated him."

"Do not blame Andras for your failure, Belthazor." Another member said flatly. "You were seen, you had a chance to destroy the Charmed Ones yourself and you refused to take it. You stopped yourself from killing the witch. We demand an explanation."

"I don't have one, I don't understand it myself." Cole knew there was no use lying, the Triad members employed demonic seers and could influence dreams, they'd know if he lied to them.

"It is for the same reason you dare to appear to us in your human form, you've allowed your human half to dominate. You've developed feelings for the witch." The third informed him. "This is intolerable, Belthazor and you know it. You have one chance to redeem yourself. Kill the witch. Fail and die, long and painfully."

Something in Cole rebelled at the thought of killing Phoebe and Cole knew he didn't want to carry out that order. But if he didn't the Triad would just send someone else to do it. Between one breath and the next, Cole reacted. He threw an energy ball at the Triad member who'd issued the order and dove to the side to avoid an energy ball hurled at him by another member. He whipped another energy ball back at that member and shimmered in behind the third, who anticipated his move and manifested a knife and turned and drove it into Cole's side as Cole unleased a third energy bolt and killed the last member of the Triad.

Cole realized he'd just ended the only life he'd ever known, for over a century. The Source would have him hunted down and destroyed for this. He pressed a hand to his bloody side and he couldn't stop himself from screaming as he shimmered away from the Underground, his home since his demon mother had brought him here as a child.

For the first time in his life, Cole had no idea who he was or what his purpose was. And now what little time he had left would undoubtedly be spent on the run from the Source's bounty hunters.

While Cole was dealing with the aftermath of his choices, Xander and his family were discussing their own choices.

"Andras is listed in the Watchers Chronicles." Xander announced to the Chases and Cordelia a couple of days after they'd destroyed Andras. "I checked. He's listed variously as both the Spirit and the Demon of Rage, he's been around for centuries and he specialized in starting wars. Millions of humans worldwide have suffered because of him."

"Than we did the world a favor destroying him." Margaret declared, sipping her coffee and leaning back on the couch beside Charles. They'd talked through the argument and were working on dealing with the pain caused by it.

"But we didn't do ourselves any favors." Xander answered. "It's one thing to think, to believe you know how you'll react when something hurts you or people you love, it's something else entirely to actually act. Let's not kid ourselves, we didn't destroy Andras because he was a demon or because he started wars and hurt people in general. We destroyed him for revenge. It was personal. Whether he deserved it or not is beside the point. I've done it before, I destroyed Rodriguez out of revenge because he hurt Cordelia. I made him suffer too, just like we did Andras. I took satisfaction in both of their deaths. Nor do I regret choosing to destroy them, it's the choosing to make them suffer part that concerns me."

"Because it teeters on the edge." Cordelia mused, leaning against him. "Demons enjoy making humans suffer, so do human monsters. And we don't want to be demons or human monsters. Demons aren't going to stop coming after us, I'm a Warren witch, sister to the Charmed Ones and sooner or later they're going to find that out. Xander hunts demons when he knows they've hurt people. So far the fact that we're something else isn't known to them and we don't know they'd even care if they find out we're techno vamps. We don't know but they might see it as a means of attacking us, causing us harm. You two were targeted because Andras misunderstood Mom's joke about having a hurricane in her. We could disappear, glamour ourselves into a different appearance and hide. Watch while people suffer and die and do nothing. Or -."

"Or commit as individuals and as a people to fighting demons where we find them." Charles said. "Use our abilities to destroy them and not for revenge. If they attack us, we simply end them, we don't make them suffer."

"We refuse to be monsters."